Oh. My. God. Tiki.

I know that Tucson, AZ probably doesn’t get a lot of good press, but this is a way hip town. Filled with retirees and a definite lack of hipsters, it’s like a time capsule of midcentury design. No one’s bulldozed or taken over anything. Plenty of awesome 50’s and 60’s buildings still stand, original everything, but sadly they’re not really being utilized. Ripe for the picking, I say! You can also tell that it’s a midcentury town because of all the strip malls – there is a downtown area, but mostly this town was built around the car (kinda like LA).

We’ve driven past this place a million times and I always thought it was funny, but it was usually in the middle of the day and who wants to go to a bar then? Too depressing. Last night, filled with curiosity and with nothing to do, we stopped.

It was an honest-to-god Tiki Bar. After asking around a bit, we found out that it had been built in 1962 and hadn’t changed a lick since then. The drinks, the atmosphere, even the menu, has been exactly the same for the last 50 years. And let me tell you (other than the fact that I don’t think it had been cleaned since 1962) it was AMAZING.

We also discovered that if you want anything to drink, it’s a scorpion. Words cannot describe how potent this drink is. Rum, gin, brandy and a hint of strawberry. It was delicious, mind you, but about the size of my skull.

There was even a giant terrarium behind the bar that held a gigantic Nile Monitor Lizard. When is the last time you went to a bar that had a resident lizard?

OMG Talk about a blast from the past. I lived in Tubac, AZ in the early 1970s while I was in High School. The Kon Tiki was a favorite date place for me. I remember like it was yesterday, yet, I’d forgotten about it completely. Now I’m struggling to recall who those adorable dates were. Hmmmmm…..

How cool is it that you and I have been in the same restaurant, Bri? What if we sat in the same booth?

ox joonie

ps. I’m working on my interview questions ~ all day yesterday. Of course, when you see it, it will look as though I spent 20 minutes on it. The way I’m going it may turn out to be a {past tense} tribute. HA HA HA

That is so cool! I also love mid-century architecture and design. Good to know there is still so much in Tucson. I actually lived there in my childhood (from 2 til I was 10)so I’ve always had a soft spot for the town and, of course, my memories of the beautiful Sonoran desert!